Chapter Thirteen

Returned, but at What Cost?

"I SAID GET OUT!" Harry shouted again as he remembered all the love and care he had had throughout the years.

"Harry! I'm so glad you're okay!" An eleven year old girl exclaimed with a smile as she hugged the boy happily.

"Come on Harry! Hurry up!" Ron said as he held out a hand to the raven haired child to pull him into the flying car.

"We'll give this…"

"Too you! You need it more…

"Than us!"

The twins handing him the Marauders map and using it to get to Hogsmeade.

"You are always welcome here at the Burrow Harry." Arthur assured the teen as he and his wife saw the lot of them off to Hogwarts.

"You're like a son to us after all." Molly said with a sniffle and a smile.

"Will you come and live with me, once we have this all figured out?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"I knew your parents Harry and I can say without a doubt that they would be proud of you." Remus stated with a smile and a pat to the teens shoulder.

"Do not pity the dead Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love." Dumbledore said with the ever present twinkle in his eyes.

"You're a wizard Harry." Hagrid informed matter of fact as he patted the child on the head as gently as he could.

All the warm hugs, the pats on the back, hair ruffles, laughter, and so much more. All of the love and care he had ever received flashed before all of their eyes as he used all he had and gave one more push.

"Get out!" Harry sobbed as he pushed with all he had.

Voldemort cried out in pain as his form gave out and he disappeared into nothing.

Severus watched with narrowed eyes and heavy breathing as the Dark Lord dissipated into smoke, screaming the entire way. The wisps flittering around the mindscape for several moments before completely disappearing into nothing.

Once he was sure that the Dark Lord had fully taken off, he turned towards the little body of Potter, curled up and clutching at himself in a hug that looked painful. "Potter…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Just leave." Came the whispered plea. The child stayed curled up, he didn't even bother trying to look up at the once professor. "Just go away. Leave me alone."

The man could only watched for several minutes as the child cried before turning on his heel and disappearing from the mindscape of Harry Potter.

He blinked his eyes as he came back to himself and looked down at the body of a fifteen year old boy. "Hmm. It looks like we were successful." He muttered as he stood up a whole lot less gracefully than normal.

"I got you old friend." Lucius said as he steadied the man quickly.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned as she kneeled next to the boy quickly, turning him onto his back so that they could look at him clearly. "Harry, can you hear me?" She questioned as she ran her hands over his face and head.

Ron settled on the opposite side with George right next to him. Arthur and Molly stood at his feet with the other Weasleys behind them as the Malfoy's stood at his head. The Hogwarts teachers all stood around, keeping an eye out with Shacklebolt. No one wanted another attack from possible Death Eaters. "Come on Mate, wake up for us." Ron called to him as he laid a hand on the boy's chest, feeling the breaths that came and went.

"You were never one to give up easily Harrykins." George chuckled wetly as he settled his own hand on Harry's knee. "It's time to wake up and prove me right, just like always."

"Come on Potter." Draco grumbled as his mother clutched to Lucius. All three were watching with weary and tired eyes, hope glimmering but waning the longer the boy remained unconscious.

The same could be said for everyone in the graveyard. They all were hoping the boy would wake up but they would have to admit that something else could be wrong the longer he took to wake. "Should we take him to Poppy?" Flitwick questioned hesitantly. He didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable or angry.

"That would be ideal." McGonagall agreed.

And soon everyone was moving to make the trip to Hogwarts. Shacklebolt staying behind to wait for the Aurors to arrive and take the last of the Death Eaters in.

Snape was the last to leave the graveyard, a feeling of dread filling him as he did.

This wasn't going to end as nicely as he would have liked, he was sure.

GUR2

Weeks go by and nothing changes.

"Are we sure we've done everything we can for him?" Hermione questioned Poppy in the infirmary at Hogwarts. School had started up again and the couple would come and go as often as they could to check up on their friend. "Is there nothing we can do?"

Poppy sighed as she shook her head. "Severus and I both have gone over everything. The child will wake when he is ready. Until then we will wait for him to wake up. Whenever that may be."

Hermione choked back on a sob before nodding and sitting next to Harry until her next class started. Ron followed her out with his own somber look, both wondering when he would wake.

"Come now Potter, it is time to wake." Poppy called to the boy, only to sigh when he didn't respond. She moved on to continue to go through supplies and make lists of what she would need replenished so that she could give it to Severus.

She never noticed the twitch of a finger as she moved away from the boy.

GUR2

He growled as he stalked along the halls of Hogwarts, watching out for the giggles of sordid couples intent on copulating together, that or students intent on exploring the castle when they had no right.

The last couple of nights he had couple multiple couples and children wondering the halls as if they owned the place. He had set them straight right away of course but that didn't mean he wasn't annoyed with them. The start of the year was always terrible due to their confidence to avoid patrolling teachers and prefects.

Severus Snape made sure that they all regretted that decision.

Though tonight, a week into the new school year, things were oddly calm. He hadn't caught any student out and he hadn't even ran into Peeves the poltergeist. The portraits were oddly silent too, all watching him with such a scrutiny that he thought that he was a student once more.

Something had changed in the castle but Snape wasn't' sure what it could be and it set him on edge.

He continued down the hall before hitting the stairs to head up to the seventh floor. He knew the room of requirement was up there and was popular for students to meet up at. He'd most likely catch someone up there at this time, surely.

He might even catch whatever had set the castle on such an edge that hadn't been felt since…well…not even the Dark Lord's attack on the school had it on such an edge. Not like this, as if it was anticipating something that…he wasn't sure what exactly but he knew it wasn't going to be good.

He grumbled as he got up to the seventh floor, ignoring Ms. Norris as she meowed up at him with those glaring red eyes of hers. He walked over to the tapestry where the trolls in tutus were and passed in front of it three times, thinking of catching students that were out of bed passed curfew.

The door appeared.

Snape blinked at the bright red color of the door, more used to the dark mahogany that it usually was. 'Strange.' He thought even as he pushed the door open and looked inside. The room was empty. No student was inside. 'Why was the door red then?' He questioned himself and looked over at the door and took in the dark mahogany that it now was.

He shook his head, thinking that maybe he had thought it red. It was very possible. He looked back at the room and took in the cozy fireplace that held a plush red couch sitting in front of it. That was different as well as the room would hold no furniture and show the students out of bounds.

Something was definitely not right, but there was no further proof of wrong doing so he turned to leave the room.

Only to freeze as a figure stood in his way at the door.

"Potter…" He breathed out as the teen cocked his head and stared at him with bright shining emerald eyes.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" He questioned as he walked forward. "I don't think I do." He said as he walked by the older man and over to the couch.

Snape whipped around to stare after the fifteen year old body settle onto the couch in front of the fire. "What do you mean you don't know me?" He questioned as he walked forward so that he could stand in front of the boy with his back to the fire, arms crossed over his chest.

Potter stared up at the man with confused eyes. "Exactly what I mean. I don't know you. I don't remember you." With that he leaned back and allowed his head to fall backwards onto couch with his eyes closed. "I woke up and came here, I knew it would be empty as it's much too late for anyone else to be up." He cracked an eye open and looked at the older man. "At least it normally is."

Snape could only stare at the boy that had just that morning been deep in a coma and now was sitting here sassing him. "I patrol the halls at night to prevent miscreant students from stepping out of bounds."

"Well I'm not a student and I woke up in the Infirmary." Potter said to him as he closed his eyes. "I don't really remember why I was in the infirmary, all I know was that I was at the Malfoys and now I'm here. Do you know if I can get in contact with them or the Weasley's to see if they know what happened?"

The boy was speaking to him as if he didn't hate him, as if they had never met and was just speaking to another adult that could be seen as his equal. Not as someone who had hated him, belittled him, and degraded him for years. How could he possibly sit there and talk to him as if he didn't… know who he….was…

"Look at me." Snape demanded sharply, garnering the boy's head to snap up and his eyes meet his own onyx. He didn't waste a second as his thrust his mind within the boys and sank deep inside.

The mind was nowhere near as cluttered as it normally was. The images that flashed in front of his eyes were all calm, peaceful, happy, or just everyday things. He searched the boy's mind for their first potions class, but was unable to find it.

Black falling through the veil.

It was no longer there.

Dumbledore dying.

Not there.

Lupin attacking as a werewolf.

That one was there. But the form of Snape himself was blurry and unrecognizable.

His eyes narrowed as he moved through the memories, watching scenes to see what was happening within them. To find out the problem and maybe if he could fix it. Even if it wasn't fixable he needed to know if it would be troublesome to the boy's everyday life.

The Burrow showed in front of him, of him talking with the youngest Weasley male and Granger. There was a blurred picture of another person there, speaking with them, but their figure was blurred and their voice not there.

He brushed that one aside and instead tried to find the Chamber of Secrets incident. The only thing he found was the sink sliding open and then nothing.

The incident with Quirrell was no longer there either. Classes with Moody, Lockhart, and Snape himself were all missing.

But the detentions and classes with Umbridge were still there.

The classes with Dumbledore weren't though and the images of the Dark Lord were all blurry and contorted. He could see the eyes of the Dark Lord but anything else was indecipherable.

Bright green eyes and a warm smile appeared in front of him and he flinched away from them. Those eyes, he knew those eyes greatly and personally and loved them all the time. He would never forget those almond shaped eyes that burned with a reckless fire that could consume all around them.

It seemed that the boy would never forget them either.

"You are loved Harry." A voice whispered out.

"You are so loved and you will always be loved." Snape flinched as he stepped back away from the memory but he couldn't stop watching. Not when that missed voice and those eyes were right there. "By mama and papa and Padfoot and Moony and Wormtail. We all love you Hairbear." She spoke and suddenly Snape could feel a hand against his cheek, as if her hand was running over it to comfort. That had never happened in a memory before but then again Snape had never gone into an infant memory either.

"You will be safe and sound and loved and protected. Someone will be there for you even when we aren't." She assured him just as a tinkle of bells rang in the background, a lullaby from some sort of contraption. It was soothing and the melody was 'My Little Sunshine' if Severus remembered correctly.

"Even if we were all to disappear, there is one man I know who will save you." She said as those eyes shined with tears suddenly. "He hurt me but I hurt him just as bad. He'll protect you though because I know he's good. I know he'll do what's right in the end. Never forget that."

A hand ran over his hair once more before the press of lips against his forehead came to him. "So dream of our love and our dear wish for you to live. We love you my little Hairbear. I love you so very much. Goodnight my little prince." With that those eyes disappeared but the tune of 'My Little Sunshine' continued.

Snape pulled from the memory, eyes misty but turned from it before he could be tempted again. Hearing Lily call him good even just one more time would have been precious and he was happy he had found that memory. Now he just had to make sure he made good on her expectations of protecting her son.

He continued to go through the mind of the boy, taking in the missing memories of the Dursleys and several of the other Slytherins and all of the adventures that the boy had gone on. The Dragon was still there from the Twi-Wizard tournament but the last two tasks were gone. The revival of the Dark Lord was gone.

The final battle was gone but the funerals were all still there, so Potter did know that some of his friends and those that made up his family were dead. He didn't know how but he knew that they were.

Anything to do with Snape, Ginny Weasley, and the Dark Lord had all disappeared or had been so distorted that he could not make them out.

The boy had truly forgotten quite a bit.

"What was that?" Potter groaned out as he rubbed at his head after Snape had fully pulled out of his mind. "What did you do?"

"I entered your mind through the use of magic. I had to see what had happened and why you had slept for so long." Snape explained as he stared down at the child. "It seems that you have lost quite a bit of your memories."

Potter blinked and looked up at the man in surprise. "I lost memories? But how? Is that why I was in the infirmary? Do I have to go over all seven years of magic from Hogwarts again?" His voice cracked at the last question in horror. Thought to be fair, to have to start from the bottom all over again in the magic department would scare anyone, Snape himself included.

"Your knowledge on magic does not seem to be affected, just the memories of people and events. I do not see a way to bring them back." A lie, he could most likely jog the boy's memory but at this time there didn't seem to be a point. The child didn't seem as burdened with the information and experiences of war. He seemed lighter and happier for once. Maybe this would be a good thing even as he remained in the form of a fifteen year old

Potter continued to stare at him for a long moment, gauging his truthfulness. "Okay then. Well anyways, I'm Harry Potter. Who are you exactly?" He questioned with a sheepish grin, as if just now realizing that he should have done this when he first entered the room.

"Severus Snape." The professor introduced as he held out a hand to the boy. "I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here at Hogwarts." He explained.

Potter smiled as he took the hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

GUR2

"Hi Mrs. Weasley!" Harry called as the woman entered the infirmary. "What are you doing here?"

"I came as soon as we heard you were awake." She explained with a watery smile, giving Ron and Hermione a hug before quickly scooping the raven haired child into her arms. "I have missed those beautiful eyes and smile of yours. I wanted to see them as soon as possible." She explained, almost crying out in joy as he hugged her back just as fiercely.

"I'm glad you came, I missed you too." Harry whispered into her shoulder as he buried his face in it. "Do you know if George is going to come by sometime?" he questioned once he was settled on the bed again.

"I don't know dear. He's been cooped up in his room again. Though he has been coming down to eat more often now than he did." Mrs. Weasley turned from the boy and then to the couple with a small smile. "I'll most likely have Harry come back to the Burrow with me. You two have permission from the headmistress to come after classes, just as long as you return in time for classes the next morning."

"That's great." Hermione smiled as she grabbed a hold of Harry's hands. "I'm glad we get to see you whenever we want. We'll make sure to come see you as often as possible. We'll see if Ginny will want to come with."

Harry blinked at that as he tilted his head. "Who?" He questioned, blanching as the three all stared at him in horror and disbelief. "What? What is it? Did I do something? Or is this person super important?" He questioned in horror at possibly forgetting something or someone highly important. Who knew who this person was after all? For all he knew it could be the new minister of magic or a teacher or someone he was really close to.

"Ginny is my youngest." Mrs. Weasley explained calmly as she reached out and ran a hand through his hair, calming him down as quickly as possible. "She my daughter and just a year younger than Ron. You'll be reintroduced eventually, I'm sure." For once she wasn't going to push as hse had seen how badly Ginny had hurt Harry before. So much so that he had chosen to give up his memories of her.

Or so Snape had explained in a way.

"When Potter faced off with the Dark Lord, he was fighting to keep his memories." Snape had explained to Molly after she had come through the floo and into the Headmistress's office. It was the day after Harry had woken and she had come as quickly as she could. Everyone else had stayed at the Burrow or was at work. "The Dark Lord destroyed memories and the best that Potter could do was use memories he either didn't need or didn't want to deflect from memories he wanted to keep."

"So he doesn't remember the war?" She had questioned in horror. The thought of the boy forgetting all those that had sacrificed themselves to free their home and country of evil. The dishonor that would bring on him and his friends that had passed.

"In a sense, yes, but he remembers all of those who had died. All the funerals and mourning he had done for them, he remembers those. It is just the war itself, the fighting and screaming and dying, he has forgotten." The man sighed as if exhausted. He most likely was from having to help Harry and speak with the boy and clarify things for him. "The memories of others have disappeared and so they are missing from his memory. Black, Lupin, Potter, and Lily are all still present but what happened to them is missing. Dumbledore has completely disappeared from his memories as have I and Ginevra Weasley, and others. Only shades of what we were now remain. The only reminder of the Dark Lord is a black figure and bright red eyes."

She stood there silently as she took in the information, understanding what had happened. Though she understood it all intellectually, she didn't in her heart. How a boy such as Harry could forget people who played just large parts in his life. She hoped it wasn't true though she feared that it was sicne it was Snape delivering the news.

Either way she would work with this, to make sure that boy that had suffered so much could finally have a peaceful life that would hopefully be pain free.

And from there, Molly would help him. She would reintroduce him to people he might have forgotten and stories for him to learn again. Snape had told her that he had gone through as much as he could, but there were still things that he was unsure of. Harry would have to be tested and spoken to about his memories.

That would take time and effort and more than a little love. Something she could offer easily. "Why don't you come back to the Burrow with me Harry? We can go over everything and figure out exactly what you remember and what you don't." She offered calmly. She had all the photo albums from the children's school years, pictures taken by other students and teachers and class pictures.

"Sounds good to me." He agreed eagerly. The Burrow had always felt like him to him, second only to Hogwarts. "When can I leave?" He questioned next just as Pomfrey came hustling out of her office.

"As soon as you take this." She held a potion out to him, the familiar color of a nutrient potion. "Then you can leave with Molly."

"Thanks Madame Pomfrey!" Harry cheered as he knocked back the potion with a grimace and then jumped up. "Come on! Let's go!" He grabbed her hand eagerly. "I'll see you guys after classes, right?" He turned towards Ron and Hermione with wide eyes.

"Yes, of course." Hermione said with her own smile.

"OF course mate, besides we can't leave you alone for long or you might get kidnapped again." He joked but yelped when Hermione knocked him upside the head. "Oi! Hermione!"

"Knock it off Ronald." She glowered at him before waving Harry off with a smile. "We'll see you later Harry."
The boy just laughed and waved at them as he followed the Weasley Matriarch out of the infirmary and towards the Burrow.

GUR2

"Is George in his room?" He questioned as he made it through the Floo.

"He should be yes." Molly quickly turned to the stove. Dinner was fast approaching and she wanted to make sure all of her boys would be well fed when they made it back from work. She would have to make extra as the Malfoys were also going to be making an appearance. "He'll be down to eat but no sooner I'm afraid."

Harry nodded as he took off up the stairs and into George's room. "Hey." He whispered as he appeared at the side of the other's bed like he had when he had been in his eleven old body. "Can I join you?"

George opened his eyes and stared at the boy before giving a slow and small smile. He raised the blanket up and Harry climbed in quickly. "You will always be welcomed wherever I am." He replied as he nuzzled into Harry's hair with a soft grin.

The raven grinned as he snuggled into the frail feeling chest. "I'm glad I'm wanted." He returned as he closed his eyes and rested with George.

Things weren't perfect, they may never be. Especially as his memories were all messed up and he was unsure of what was missing. It didn't help that he was stuck as a fifteen year old at the moment but Snape had said they would continue working through the memories he had that were blocking him from his truce age. But that didn't stop him from remembering the warmth that was provided by the Weasley's. By Ron and Hermione. By Draco and Narcissa and Lucius. And by George.

The warmth made him happy and it filled the voids of where his memories were. He would never need to worry about it because he had his family. The one he had found for himself.

Growing up a second time didn't seem too bad of a deal in comparison to that simple truth.

GUR2

A.N. Okay, that's it that's all! This story is done and over with and finished. I hoped you all enjoyed it and though it ended abruptly, I don't really care. Review and tell me what you all thought about it! Until my next story! Adios!